New World Order
by xDemonicCloudx
Summary: Cloud and Serah make a revolutionary discovery and are on the run from the "New World Order". Slight OCness and some drug use, violence and random quotes. There is going to be some touchy events in it. E.g. something about 9/11 etc. OFFENDED? DON'T READ!
1. Chapter 1

_**Author Note – **__A new fic from me; xDemonicCloudx_

_Well I was at a funeral a few days ago and I had to go to my uncles. Fortunately he is a stoner like moi. He began spouting a lot of random stuff about his views on the world so I decided to write a fic about some of the stuff. I have to admit this fic has some of my views in it as well so… Yeah, enjoy it._

_**Everyone knows the world isn't what it seems;**_

_**Why give in to the pressure the higher ups throw at you?**_

_**It's time to end the cycle.**_

The alarm rang throughout the dimly lit room. Covers were quickly thrown off and a hand slammed into the alarm, silencing it for the day. Cloud lifted his head off the pillow. Lately his days had turned into a routine which never ended. He stood up, stretched his arms letting out a loud yawn. Finishing his stretches he pulled his boxers up his slender frame. He looked around his room groggily and looked out his window. His neighbour Ben was, as usual, high and searching his conspiracy theories. Cloud scoffed and walked downstairs to his kitchen where his housemate Serah had served up a breakfast of pancakes and waffles. Cloud ran his hand through his messy blond hair and smiled at his friend.

"I got up late again, didn't I?" asked Cloud, smiling.

"Only twenty minutes," laughed Serah, handing a plate of pancakes to Cloud. He quickly demolished the pancakes and ran into his room, throwing a black t-shirt on with a pair of black, baggy pants. He shoved his feet into a pair of worn black Converse sneakers and leapt down the stairs, two at a time. Serah stood at the front door with a set of keys twirling around her finger.

"Ready," grinned Cloud straightening out his shirt with his hands. Serah shook her head and threw a rucksack at her friend. Cloud quickly grabbed the bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"Now you're ready," smiled Serah, flashing a set of pearly white teeth. The pair walked out the house, with Cloud locking the door behind them and climbed into a small, red Vauxhall Corsa.

"Y'know, every day we seem to go through the same stuff," pondered Cloud, looking out the window of the car as animals, buildings, trees and pedestrians walked by.

"What do you mean?" questioned Serah, confused about this sudden outburst.

"Don't you wish something would just change to get us out of this daily routine?" asked Cloud looking at Serah now.

"You've been spending too much time with Ben, perhaps?" laughed Serah, pulling up to their school; Bodhum High.

"No I have not!" protested Cloud, pouting at his friend.

Cloud opened the door of the car and climbed out, looking around and sighing as everyone walked around like zombies. Girls in their cliques; gossiping, jocks in their groups; shouting and laughing like animals and teachers slowly walking into the school, looking tired as they realise they have to be in the school the entire day. Cloud turned and seen Serah climb out her car and smile at him. She wiped down her white dress and grabbed her bag. She walked over to Cloud and linked her arm with his.

"School, another daily routine?" asked Serah sarcastically.

"Yeah," moaned Cloud, "by the way, sarcasm doesn't suit you." Serah glared at Cloud as the pair walked through the massive double doors entering the school hallway. Even though the pair were early to school the hallways were packed with students rushing to their lockers to collect their things for their classes and chatting to their friends. Serah and Cloud managed to fight their way to their respective lockers and threw their bags into them. Cloud glanced at his locker door to make sure he knew what class he was at.

"Eugh, history," sighed Cloud. Serah simply nodded and left Cloud all alone, "I suppose I'll get her at the end of the day."

The day rushed by for Cloud as he just daydreamed throughout. As the final bell rang he smiled and rushed to his locker to collect his belongings and then ran to Serahs' car. As per usual she was sitting in her car with her phone, texting her friends she'd just left only moments ago. She noticed Cloud, smiled and put her phone away.

"Another routine thing, me always in the car before you?" smirked Serah.

"And always on your phone to your friends you just left," laughed Cloud. Serah laughed with him and started her car. The pair began chatting and drove off home.

As they pulled up to their home, Cloud looked over to his neighbour's house. Ben looked out his window and motioned for Cloud to come over.

"I'm going to go and see what Ben wants," said Cloud climbing out the car.

"Okay, don't be too late," warned Serah, "I know what you are like when he invites you over."

"Don't worry, I'll be back in about an hour tops," smirked Cloud.

Cloud jogged across the lawn and walked into Bens' home. Ben smiled as he heard the door open and close.

"Cloud, here," said Ben, his voice strained with the number of joints he smokes per day, throwing Cloud a thickly rolled joint. Cloud stuck it into his mouth, used a nearby lighter and sparked up. He inhaled the intoxicating substance and blew the smoke out. The smoke spread through the room as he blew out more.

"So, why did you invite me over?" asked Cloud, getting straight to the point.

"I have uncovered something about our government," began Ben, tightening his blue housecoat, "our government say they help us, whereas in reality they are only doing what they are told by a higher order."

"A higher order?" asked Cloud, taking another drag of the joint.

"Right, you think our president decides on tax cuts, etcetera? He doesn't. Instead he gets his ideas from a person or group higher than him. They choose what cuts get passed, what information we receive, they control our lives and we don't even know about it."

"Y… you can't be serious, Ben," gasped Cloud, nearly dropping his joint.

"Believe it. I've had friends hack into the FBI, CIA and a lot more. For some reason he hasn't sent any new information, he usually uses a proxy server so he can't be traced but I think he was taken in."

"Ben, you're sounding crazier every time you open your mouth."

"I know this is a lot to take in but you have to understand!"

Ben and Cloud sat at the front of Bens' computer, smoking joint after joint, going through all the information that Ben had compiled about the government they were ruled by. He showed evidence against 9/11 and many other massive incidents.

Cloud and Ben sat back after reading everything and looked at the ceiling.

"I know it's a lot of information but you had to learn sometime," stated Ben, his voice now slow and droning. Suddenly an eruption of gas smoked the room. Cloud tried to stand but fell onto the floor and began losing consciousness. His last sight before his eyes closed was a person wearing heavy boots and a suit.

Cloud struggled to open his eyes, yet managed so. Looking around he noticed he was back in his room. He tried to get up but his body ached. He let out a small groan and suddenly his head began thumping. He gripped his head and moaned in pain.

"I have no sympathy for you," came a voice from the doorway. Cloud opened one eye and looked at the doorway. Standing there in a pink housecoat was Serah, arms crossed and a very stern look on her face.

"What happened last night?" asked Cloud, the pain in his head subsiding slowly.

"You crawled in at 3am, making so much noise. You screamed about men coming to get you," growled Serah. Cloud sat up and looked out his window, daylight lit up the world. He looked into Bens' house and noticed that he wasn't there. Neither was any of his furniture. Instead it looked like a completely new house with someone else moving in.

"Where's Ben!?" shouted Cloud, leaping off his bed.

"Ben's next door," said Serah, confused about Cloud's shouting.

"That's not Ben's house. Check it for Christ's sake!" Serah quickly climbed over Clouds' bed and looked into Bens' home.

"What the hell!?" yelled Serah, "that's not his house!" She quickly scanned the surrounding area and her eyes drew to a tall man wearing a black suit, white shirt, black tie and heavy boots.

"You see something?" asked Cloud, trying to see where her view was.

"A man, staring right at us, well I assume he is; he's wearing sunglasses."

"Let's get ready for school, maybe something will come back to me from last night." Cloud went to scratch his head and noticed black writing on his arm.

_REMEMBER!_

"Remember?" asked Cloud.

"Remember what?" asked Serah.

"I'm guessing I wrote a note to me to remember what happened last night," replied Cloud.

"Come, let's get to school."

Cloud and Serah climbed into the car and drove by the man, turning as the car passed him. Cloud paid no heed to him.

"My routine has changed, I'm unsure if I like it or not," stated Cloud, turning to Serah as she pressed down on the gas pedal.

"Routines change, it's not a good thing to get stuck into one Cloud," said Serah, not taking her eyes off the road.

_**The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author Note: **__I know I haven't been one for updating for a while but it took me a while to getting to plan this chapter. So many ideas running through my head so I am going to type this up while wearing a Stitch onesie. So enjoy._

_**You may be deceived if you trust too much,**_

_**But you will live in torment if you don't trust enough.**_

Cloud and Serah drove through the streets to get to their school, passing multiple black SUVs. Standing outside the SUVs were men in black suits, black ties and white shirts, staring into their car. Cloud stared back; feeling like he remembered them, from sometime in the past, yet everything was faint. Serah glanced at the men every now and then and occasionally looked at Cloud, who looked a bit pale. She put it down to the volume of intoxicating smoke he inhaled from the previous night. She looked back the familiar road, which she drove down nearly every morning. School was nearby; she knew this because she could hear the bell ringing very close by. She sighed heavily; she'd almost had a perfect attendance record. She pressed down on the pedal and began going a bit faster, if she could blend in with the students which took their time she'd easily use that excuse.

Cloud sighed as Serah began driving faster, he thought she was a freak because of her attendance. He, on the other hand, preferred to waltz into school when he felt comfortable. They pulled up to the school and Serah leapt out of the car and sprinted to her homeroom. Cloud, open mouthed at the act he just witnessed, stared out the window, freaking out some of the passing students. He quickly gathered himself and pulled the key out of the ignition and closed Serahs' still open door. He grabbed his bag and climbed out of the car. As he straightened up he looked around to see a load of suited men, standing around the school yard. He gripped his head in pain, which on looking at them had caused. Flashed of memories hit him. He began swaying, from dizziness and the confusion of the images he is seeing. He remembered the black suit and the heavy boots from the night before. He cursed and ran into the school. Unseen, one of the suited men pulled up his wrist and began speaking into a microphone on his watch. The rest of them men turned and looked at the one talking and nodded at him.

Cloud ran through the hallways, nearly slipping on a few wet patches. He hunted the first floor for Serahs' homeroom class. Catching a familiar face in one of the classes, he burst the door open and seen Serah.

"Serah, we have to go, the guys in the suits, I remember them!" yelled Cloud, obnoxious to the rest of the class staring at him like he's crazy.

"What are you talking about?" asked Serah, confused at this outburst. As she finished her sentence a man in a black suit came through.

"Fuck," cursed Cloud under his voice. He gripped Serahs' hand and pulled her away, giving her just enough time to grab her bag. The pair began running through the spare homeroom door and slammed the door on the pursuing suited man. Serah and Cloud ran down the stairs to the ground floor and ran straight into another suited man. Serah began moving back and banged into another suited man. The pair looked at one-another and kicked the suited man facing them, right into the groin. Both men grumbled and fell to the ground, clutching their privates in pain. Serah and Cloud leapt over the men and ran out of the school. The pair leapt into Serahs' car after Cloud threw the keys over to Serah, who unlocked the car. She slammed the key into the ignition and put the gear into reverse. Serah swivelled her body around, getting a good view out the car's rear window. She pressed down on the gas pedal and shot backwards. She pressed on the brake and turned the car around, slammed the gear into drive and shot forward, dodging a man in a black suit.

Serah slowed down as she entered the country road.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" demanded Serah gripping the wheel so tightly her knuckles were white.

"I remembered last night; Ben showed me some really important information and then a tear gas was thrown into the room. I fell unconscious but I saw a man in a black suit and boot, the exact same as we seen around the school today.

"So, you think they drugged you to forget the information you seen?" asked Serah confused from all the recent events.

"Well, yeah. They guys looked quite heavy and secret. I think they know I know what they are doing to us," replied Cloud, in a short breath.

"What are they doing to us?"

"To begin, it's a one government world. Not all the governments in the world joined. It's one higher than them, giving out the orders. They've planned everything; terrorist attacks are the higher government, creating fear for some reason."

"You have been spending too much time with Ben."

"It's the truth, or they wouldn't be there and we wouldn't need to run after I remembered them."

"Damn, we'll go to Lightning's. She'll bound to know what to do," said Serah, speeding up again.

The journey took hours for the pair. Cloud slept through most of it but still complained she lived in the middle of nowhere. Serah reminded him it was the best for her since she's not close to anyone and can be left to her own devices. After about 5 hours of driving, Lightning's house finally came into view. For a house being in the middle of nowhere, it was still such a grand house. It stuck out in the middle of the nature around it.

They pulled up to the front door and Serah slowly climbed out of the car. It had been a long time since she last seen Lightning. Lightning did say to come straight to her if she was in trouble, and she decided this was trouble. She knocked on the door lightly, and waited a few seconds before the large door opened with a large groan. Standing there was an older version of Serah. Her green eyes pierced anything they lay their sight upon. She looked down to see Serah and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Serah, it's been a while," said Lightning, her voice sweet, intoxicating and commanding.

"Hey, Light," smiled Serah, slightly embarrassed and feeling guilty from not talking to Lightning in a long time.

"What brings you here?" asked Lightning, leaning against the door frame, her brown skirt hanging high on her thighs with her brown turtleneck vest missing her cream coat.

"We're in a slight bit of bother and would be much obliged to your help, sis," said Serah sheepishly.

"Come in," ordered Lightning. Serah nodded and bowed then quickly walked into the house. Cloud nodded and simply walked into the house, smiling at Lightning. Their footsteps echoed through the grand hall they were in.

"I'm sorry Lightning," said Serah as he sister walked quickly beside her.

"Don't worry about it."

"Lightning, is this place secure?" asked Cloud, quickly looking around the room.

"Highest level security known to man, titanium, bulletproof and bomb proof shutters. Emergency exits all around the ground floor, easily concealed for quick exits," replied Lightning in an official tone.

"So, we're safe?" asked Cloud.

"You wouldn't be able to kill yourself in this house," replied Lightning.

"That's an interesting response," smirked Cloud.

The threesome walked into a small room, red velvet chairs and wallpaper made the room. Lightning sat down on one of the chairs and motioned for the pair to sit on the ones opposite her. She snapped her fingers and a man brought tea and poured it into their cups sitting in front of them. Lightning leaned back and crossed her hands on her knees.

"So, what's happened?"

"I don't think you'll fully believe us, Lightning," replied Cloud.

"Continue," ordered Lightning.

"Well, last night, I was at a friends and he showed me information about the government and out of nowhere a man threw a tear gas in the house and suddenly I began feeling drowsy, I remembered the sight of a man with a black suit and boots. I woke up in my bed, not remembering a thing then when we were at school I seen more of the men in suits and my memories came flooding back and now we're on the run from them. They clearly didn't want me knowing what I knew," said Cloud in just one breath. Lightning leaned forward and listened closely. She never said a word for what felt like an eternity for the pair in front of her. Suddenly she leaned back, put her hands at her sides and spoke.

"I'm having a ball tonight, stay, have fun. We shall deal with this when the time comes," smiled Lightning, motioning for the butler to show the pair to their rooms.

Clouds' room was a deep blue colour. A gold four-poster bed sat in the middle of the room, with blue sheets and a large TV at the opposite side of the bed. Cloud smiled and the butler showed him clothes he could change into. The butler nodded and walked out of the room with Serah. Serahs' room was pink, simply pink everything. She smiled and ran straight to the wardrobe. The butler nodded and walked out the room, leaving Serah with a bundle of clothes to try on.

A few hours later, guests began appearing at Lightnings' home. Cloud walked out his room, his hair spiked up like normal, yet wearing a black suit, a red shirt and a black tie. His shoes were so shiny he could see his reflection in them. He looked to see Serah exiting her room, in a white, strapless dress and a white scarf around her neck. She walked in high heels over to Cloud and he held out his arm, gesturing for her to link hers in it as they descended the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs stood Lightning, wearing a red, satin dress with a white scarf hanging over her shoulders. Her hair was pinned up and she was clutching a small black purse. She smiled as the pair stepped down the last stair.

"Let us mingle with the people," said Lightning, sounding unusually posh.

"What's with the weird accent?" asked Serah, trying not to laugh at how dumb her sister sounded.

"It gives them a false image of me so they trust that person and not the one I truly am," replied Lightning smiling at the guests she passed.

A few hours had passed and the hall was full of drunken men and women, making a fool of them as the three stood at the back of the hall, not drunk at all. Out of nowhere and explosion rocked house, shattering the windows, sending the guests reeling in fear. Lightning put her hand in her purse and brought out a small, fully automatic handgun from inside. She aimed at the front door and backed away. They hit a door and Cloud burst through it. Standing on the other side was a black suited and wielding a gun aimed at Cloud.

"Fuck," cursed Cloud under his breath. Lightning twisted her body and shot the man's heart. Cloud ran up and grabbed the gun and an extra clip from the man. He grabbed Serahs' hand, dragging her out of her dazed state. Lightning and Cloud aimed their guns at the door and walked towards one of the secret exits. She forced the pair down the exit and closed it behind her. She motioned of them to go on and threw a set of keys at them. The pair ran as fast as they could down the exit. They came into an underground parking lot. Serah pressed the button on the keys unlocking the door of a nice Jaguar. They climbed into the car and sped off, Serah wiping tears away. She couldn't believe they'd left Lightning behind to defend herself against an unknown number of assailants. Cloud looked up to the roof of the tunnel they were going through; Serah flicked the headlights on and saw the tunnel went on for a while.

After a while of driving a bright light came into their vision, the exit of the tunnel. The car rushed out of the tunnel and Serah slowed the car down, unsure of where the tunnel had led them. She pulled the brake and the car slowed to a halt. She looked at Cloud, who had fallen asleep. He looked so peaceful in his sleep.

Cloud had fallen asleep about twenty minutes before they exited the tunnel.

"_Cloud, you and Serah have a great battle approaching," said a voice from the darkness in Clouds' dream. He looked around, seeing nothing but darkness._

"_What do you mean?" asked Cloud, feeling stupid since he was talking to darkness._

"_You will find out soon enough, but I bestow on the pair of you special powers to help you in your fight," said the voice, "you will become L'Cie, granted by me, Etro."_

"_Etro?" asked Cloud, becoming increasingly confused. A bright light illuminated the darkness and standing in front of him was a beautiful angelic being, wrapped in gold armour and long flowing blonde hair._

"_I am the Goddess Etro; I grant these powers of L'Cie to you and Serah to fight the speedily approaching Darkness." The light enveloped Cloud and he felt a burning sensation on the top of his left bicep. He lifted his t-shirts sleeve to see a black symbol on his arm._

"_What is this?" asked Cloud, dazed from the burning feeling._

"_I have banded you. When you awake Serah shall have the same brand. You will have powers beyond your imagination. This brand won't open, as you have no Focus."_

"_What's a Focus?"_

"_A mission, you know what you have to do. Follow the signs." _

With that last sentence Cloud awoke from his slumber to see they were in a field in the middle of no-where. He quickly checked his arm to see his 'brand' was still there. He checked Serahs' arm and seen she had an identical one. He looked forward and Serah looked at him.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"I think we find out who these guys in black are working for and what they want us for," replied Cloud.

"So, how are we going to do that?"

"Let's go to the mall, I have an idea," smirked Cloud. Serah stared at him and smiled back. Pressing her foot down on the pedal the Jaguar shot off towards the nearest mall.

_**Friendship... is not something you learn in school.**_

_**But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship,**_

_**You really haven't learned anything.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author Note: **__Jesus, that last chapter was the longest chapter I have ever written. I'm really getting into this fic, I think I will really finish this one. So many ideas have been going through my stoned little mind lately, so I had to get it written down. Well enjoy this, though there may be some more offence in this chapter, so I'm sorry in advance._

_**We feel free when we escape**_

_**Even if it be but from the frying pan to the fire.**_

Cloud and Serah had been driving for hours now. They'd pulled up at a gas station in the middle of the country and Serah filled the car with petrol with Cloud going in the station to buy some food and drinks. The pair climbed into the car after paying for the gas and drove off again. The wind whipped through Serahs' pink hair, making her forget the previous day's events. Cloud looked into the sky, the bright sunlight bringing out the light blue in his eyes. He smiled at the sky and closed his eyes. Serah cleared her throat dragging Cloud out of his daydream.

"So, brands?" asked Serah, staring at the road with a stern look on her face.

"Etro, she gave us them," replied Cloud, "apparently there is a great fight coming up."

"That's all the information she gave you?"

"Yeah, all I know is these brands give up powers, which will be useful." Serah looked to Cloud then quickly looked back to the road. She remained quiet for a long time, making Cloud feel very uncomfortable. He closed his eyes and leaned against the door. Serah cursed under her breath, causing Cloud to open his right eye, looking at her. She nodded to the wing mirror on Clouds' side. He looked into it to see a set of four black SUVs following closely behind them. Cloud popped open the glove compartment and pulled out the gun he picked up in Lightnings' home. He looked out the window to see through the lightly tinted window a man loading a Sig Saur. Cloud cursed and aimed the gun at the SUV. He began pulling the trigger, shooting at the window. The bullets pinged off the bulletproof glass. Cloud cursed again and unloaded the clip. He slammed a full clip into the gun and began firing at the wheels. A bullet punctured the right wheel sending the driver spiralling out of control into the two SUVs behind it, creating a large explosion which forced Cloud to take cover in the car as the explosion was catching up. Serah floored the gas and sped forward. Suddenly she pulled down the handbrake and spun the car at 90 degrees to allow Cloud enough time to shoot the wheels of the last SUV, sending it over itself, crushing the man inside it. He pulled himself back into the car and Serah sped forward again. Cloud looked at Serah, who was looking at him and burst into fits of laughter. Serah turned her head to the road and laughed with Cloud.

"My hands are shaky from the adrenaline rush there," giggled Serah.

"How do you think I feel, I thought my hands were going to fall off after shooting that," laughed Cloud. Serah smiled and pressed down on the pedal.

It only took them another three hours after the last event to get to New Yorks largest mall. Cloud covered his spiky hair with a beanie cap. Serah wore a large white hat, matching her dress top. She kept close to Cloud, feeling he knew what he was about to do. They walked through the massive doors and looked at all the shops around them. Some shops were ones famous people shopped in. Serah began feeling anxious about the plan and Cloud could feel her shaking. He looked down to her and nodded. He focused on the brand and what power it would give him. A wave of strength rushed over him and he threw the power from his fingertips, sending a blast of lightning through the roof of the mall; showering shards of glass upon all the shoppers in the building. Serah focused and threw a ball of ice, freezing everything, in the radius it hit, into ice. Shoppers began running away, screaming at Cloud and Serah.

"I can't believe we are doing this," growled Serah, sending a fireball at a shop, blowing it up.

"We want their attention so we can find out what they want us for, right," replied Cloud, blasting more lightning through the roof.

"Fair point," sighed Serah, sending a wicked aero spell around the mall. They stopped attacking for a moment and a large group of suited men ran into the mall, aiming a large number of Sig Saurs at the pair. Both cursed and looked at one another. Cloud felt a power build up inside of him. He sprinted towards a suited man; hit him square on the chest with an ice ball, dropping the suited man's gun; which was caught by Cloud. In front of him appeared a bunch of suited men standing, aiming their guns at him. He leapt back beside Serah and aimed the gun at one of them.

"Damn, we're outnumbered," groaned Cloud.

"We're done for," cried Serah.

"We'll be…" Cloud trailed off as his body slumped into unconsciousness from a hit to the back of the head. Serah looked down then quickly turned in time to see the butt of a handgun coming down on her forehead, knocking her out.

Cloud opened his eyes and saw only darkness. Suddenly the darkness turned to light and Cloud tried to cover his eyes. He struggled against the restraints which her holding his arms about his head. He looked down to see his legs were spread and restrained them against a metal pole. He grunted and wiggled his arms around to try and loosen the cuffs, which ultimately ended in failure. He looked around the room to see it was covered in mirrors, Cloud seeing every part of his body around him. He quickly noticed he was only in his underwear, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

"Hello?" asked Cloud, his voice echoing through the mirrored room. "Where the fuck am I?"

"All will be answered in a short time," echoed a robotic voice.

"Who's that!?" yelled Cloud, becoming angrier. "Show yourself!" With that order a section of the mirror opened up, revealing a window and a man standing inside it.

"What do you know?" asked the man.

"About what?" yelled Cloud.

"Please, refrain from shouting. I mean what you know about the government."

"This is an interesting way to ask a survey."

"Tell us."

"I know that this is a one world government, I need to show people everything is a conspiracy."

"That was all we needed to hear," said the voice. The shutter that had opened only moments ago had now closed again, leaving Cloud alone in the large, empty room. He closed his eyes and dreamed of a time he would be out of here. A faint alarm made him open his eyes and see the power had been turned off, his cuffs released him and he stumbled onto the cold, concrete floor. He suddenly felt a cold draught and wrapped his arms around himself, jogging on the spot to keep his body temperature up. A hissing took his attention and a small shelf came out the wall. Inside was a pair of boots, a long leather jacket and a black t-shirt and combat jeans. He slipped into the clothes that fitted very well. A door opened and he slowly walked up to it. Looking outside he seen a long line of other cells. He walked slowly from his cell to the neighbouring one.

"Serah?" he whispered, "Serah!?"

"Cloud, is that you!?" cried Serah, banging on her cell door. Cloud ran up to the door which was three doors down from his on the opposite side.

"Shhh, the guards might hear you," whispered Cloud, reaching through the bars to hold onto Serahs' hands.

"Oh God, Cloud, what is happening?" asked Serah, frantically holding onto Clouds' hands.

"I don't know, I'm going to look around a bit, I figure there should be one guard nearby," replied Cloud, looking down the hall of cells to see if a guard was coming.

"Where did you get those clothes?" asked Serah, finally realising he was wearing new clothes.

"Check your room, there should be some," smiled Cloud, releasing his grip on Serahs' hands. Serah nodded and quickly walked away to check her cell for clothes.

Cloud quickly and silently walked up to the nearest corner and snuck his head around to see if there were any guards. Looking around, he noticed a guard unconscious on the ground. Cloud quickly ran up to the guard and looted his pockets for any weapons or ammo. He found a Beretta 92 under the belt of the guard and two full clips for the handgun. He smiled and turned to run back to Serah. Standing in front of him was a tall, muscular guard. Cloud quickly rolled backwards, over the unconscious guard, lifted his handgun and shot at the guards knees, sending him crashing down. He rushed up and kicked the guards face with his heavy boots, knocking the guard unconscious. He rummaged through the pockets, finding a Sig Saur and plenty of ammo for it. He ran back to the cell and seen Serah had found clothes. She was wearing a red skirt, a white shirt and a white, see through, open vest.

"Stand back," ordered Cloud, aiming the handgun at the door handle.

"Cloud, you sure that'll work?" asked Serah, quickly cowering in the corner of her cell, on top of her bed. Cloud pulled the trigger on the gun, knocking part of the door handle off. He shot another two times, sending the handle and locking mechanism off the door. He kicked the door and it swung open. He stepped inside and held his hand out for Serah. She leapt off the bed, clutching his hand. She smiled and held onto him. Cloud held out the Sig Saur for Serah to take. She reluctantly took the handgun and he passed her the ammo clips.

"I don't expect you to need to use it, but it's better to have it and not need it," said Cloud, reassuring her about the weapon she was now holding.

"I've never used a gun before," whispered Serah.

"There's nothing to it, just aim and squeeze the trigger. There'll be a recoil but you just keep your arms tensed and allow the recoil," said Cloud, smiling. Serah nodded and looked at her visible brand. She looked back to Cloud and the pair ran down the hall. They passed the two unconscious guards and continued through the hallways. Cloud looked at the walls hoping for a sign to say where they were. After running up about five sets of stairs they finally saw a sign saying "_B5_".

"We're on the bottom 5th floor?" questioned Cloud.

"This goes on for ages," sighed Serah, her breathing slightly laboured for running up the stairs.

"I don't think we have much longer, we still don't know where we are thought," said Cloud, disheartened slightly. Serah sighed again and grabbed Clouds' hand, running up the stairs again. She laughed quietly and shot up the stairs.

Finally, after what felt like ages, the pair ran into a wide open airport area. Cloud looked around and saw nothing but desert around them. They both sighed and suddenly they were surrounded by armed guards aiming MP5's at them.

"Oh, fuck," cursed Cloud holding his hands in the air. Serah copied him out of fear she may be shot dead.

"Drop the weapons," said one of the guards in a monotone voice. Cloud nodded at Serah, who dropped her gun at the same time as Cloud. She felt the power rush through her veins again and brought it to her fingers, ready to attack the guards. Cloud dropped to the ground, catching both handguns as they dropped through mid-air. He shot the pair of guns multiple times, the guards dropping with bullet holes in their bodies, blood spilling out. Serah shot the guards which were still standing with fireballs, sending them flying backwards and in flames.

"That was fun," said Serah, the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"It had to be done," replied Cloud. A groan came from behind them, Cloud holding his handguns at the source of the noise. A guard was getting back up and Cloud walked up to the guard.

"Where are we?" asked Cloud, pressing the barrel of the gun to the guards head.

"In Area 51," groaned the male guard.

"Area 51, why?" asked Serah, walking up to Cloud.

"It's where we keep everything and every one of the people involved in the truth about the government," said the guard, clutching his wound.

"How do we get out?" asked Cloud, pressing the gun harder on the forehead of the guard.

"Take this key card; take the main elevator to sub level five. You'll find a train which take you just outside Las Vegas. I understand you have found things out about the government, but I want you to tell everyone," moaned the guard.

"Is there anything we can do to repay you, I feel bad for hurting you," whispered Serah, holding back her tears.

"Kill me, quickly?" offered the guard.

"If it is your wish," said Cloud, bowing his head in a respectful gesture.

"Before you do, I want you to go to sub level 3 and take as much evidence as possible to bring this government down," sighed the guard, closing his eyes. He nodded for Cloud to end his life. Serah turned around and closed her eyes tightly. A gun shot rung through the empty air field and then Cloud put his hand on Serahs' shoulder.

"It's time to go," nodded Cloud. He knelt down and picked up the key card the guard left out. Serah slowly walked by the body and bowed in respect.

The pair made it to the main elevator and slid the key card into its slot. The lights in the elevator came on and Cloud pressed the button for the 3rd floor. The doors closed and the elevator lurched and went down. Elevator music suddenly came in the stereo and Serah scoffed. She grabbed her gun from Cloud and shot all the speakers, silencing the disgusting music. The elevator halted and the doors slid open. The pair jumped out from the sides of the doors and aimed their guns around the room. An entire line of bookshelves filled the room and no-one was in the room.

"Look for anything that might be incriminating enough to bring this government under pressure," ordered Cloud. Serah nodded and began looking at the spines of the folders to see what was in them. He eyes scanned by a folder entitled _9/11._

"Oh, god, Cloud, I have something!" yelled Serah pulling the folder out of the shelf.

"I found one as well, something about JFK," replied Cloud, running up to Serah with the folders.

"Let's go then," said Serah, turning back to the elevator. The pair ran into the elevator and Cloud pressed the button for the 5th floor. Again the elevator lurched and went downwards. The elevator ride was done with silence. The doors slid open and a massive train sat on the rails. Cloud handed Serah the folders and opened the doors to the train. Inside was like a giant machine, gears turning and engines pumping. Cloud pressed the large start button on the train but nothing happened. He checked around and saw the power was off; the engines were working on the emergency power.

"I'll go out and fix it, you stay here," smiled Cloud running out the doors. He checked around the massive train yard he was in and found the power generator. He pulled the choke and the power turned on. An automated female voice suddenly echoed through the empty room.

"_Power restoration beginning. Power has been cut off; reset is in T-Minus five minutes."_

"Huh?" questioned Cloud, looking around the room for the source of the voice. Suddenly everything went dark and then the emergency lighting turned on. Cloud began running back to the train when a large body fell from the top of the room. Standing in front of Cloud was a massive behemoth, standing on all four legs, its red mane clashing with its dark blue fur. Saliva dripping from its growling jaws, eyes as red as blood, claws bigger than Clouds' hands, this behemoth was nothing Cloud has ever seen before.

"Oh, fuck," cursed Cloud, aiming his handgun at the beast. Cloud tried to make a move to go to the left but the behemoth anticipated a movement and blocked him off. It reared its head and roared, shaking the room slightly. Cloud cursed again and began firing shots into the behemoths body. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the behemoth, swishing its claws through the air to hit Cloud. He dodged the attack and leapt over the behemoths claw. The automated voice echoed through the room again.

"_T-Minus two minutes until power restoration, Bio-Weapon detected on sub level five; T-Minus three minutes until detonation of base."_

"Oh, fuck!" yelled Cloud, cursing more than he usually does. He sprinted towards the train with the behemoth following closely behind him. "Can this day get worse!?" Serah quickly opened the door to allow Cloud entry. The door closed and the behemoth smacked against the train. The pair heard a loud roar on the other side of the doors and wished the power would come back on. Suddenly the train burst into life and the power button flashed red.

"Let's do this," said Cloud. Serah nodded and slammed the button down on the panel, sending the train lurching forward.

The train burst out from a hole in the ground, light illuminating the train. A sudden blast shook the train, sending Cloud and Serah onto their knees.

"Amazing, we made it out in less than a minute," gasped Serah.

"It's a bullet train, fastest in the world," smiled Cloud, looking out the window, seeing the smoke rising behind the train.

"I'm glad we're out of there, but how are we going to get this information out?" asked Serah, "the government declares what gets shown on TV and what gets broadcast on the radio."

"Yeah, unless we hijack a TV station; I'm sure Vegas has enough TV stations," smirked Cloud, looking into the sunset as the train made its way to Las Vegas.

_**The difficult we do immediately,**_

_**The impossible takes us a little longer.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author Note: **__Last chapter was my longest ever chapter. Oh, my God. Well thanks for the reviews from "_cloudfarron" _they were nice. Well, I originally had no idea how I was gonna finish this off but now by playing Final Fantasy XIII and VII all over again I have finally figured it out! Hope you guys enjoy how this story folds out._

_**We can't allow the world's worst leaders to blackmail and threaten,**_

_**Freedom-loving nation's hostage with the world's worst weapons.**_

Cloud looked around the city, the lights flashing at every glance, momentarily blinding him until his eyes got used to the bright lights. He looked to Serah, who was gawking at all the scenery around her. She felt so happy but something in the pit of her stomach made her realise she wasn't going to get the Vegas experience like everyone else right now. She looked to Cloud who was now looking around the city.

The train had left them in the desert so they had to walk a few hours to Las Vegas. Serah was exhausted and Cloud was feeling quite fatigued himself. He smiled and began walking to a large hotel. Serah ran up beside him and gawked at the large building, a fountain spurting out water in a choreographed fashion. Serahs' eyes lit up at the spectacle she was witnessing. She clapped her hands together and laughed. Cloud crossed his arms and laughed as well.

"Let's go," smiled Cloud, putting his hand on Serahs' shoulder. She smiled back and began walking beside her friend.

The lobby of the hospital was more magnificent than the fountain outside. She gasped and looked to Cloud.

"How are we going to afford a room in here?" gasped Serah.

"I have a credit card," smirked Cloud.

"I will not let you get billed for this!" growled Serah.

"Serah, we're risking our lives and you think I'll be bothered with a large credit bill?" asked Cloud.

"That's not the point," replied Serah, crossing her arms and turning away from Cloud. Cloud hushed a few words to the lady at the desk.

"Too late now," he laughed, casually patting Serahs' back. She groaned and followed Cloud to the elevator. Inside the elevator was clear, see-through glass, allowing passengers to see the elevator beside it. As it lifted Serah stared out towards the city, seeing the moon and the lights of all the buildings nearby. She smiled, not wanting the moment to end as the elevator went further up. It suddenly stopped and Cloud tapped Serahs' shoulder. She turned around and went speechless at the room in front of her. She stepped out of the elevator into the room and nearly fell. It was like a majestic throne room in a castle in a fairy tale Lightning used to tell her. Shining white walls were lined with sparkling gold. A 52" black HD TV was mounted into the wall and white leather couches sat around a large gold table. At the side of the room, by the window was a large Jacuzzi. Cloud ran and leapt onto one of the couches, flicking the TV on. He turned channels until he found an anime that he liked.

"Hey, they have SOA (Sword Art Online)," grinned Cloud.

"Forever a child," laughed Serah, "I'm going for a shower." She walked into the bathroom and turned the hot tap on. She stripped her clothes off and threw them out the room, "wash them please."

"Yes, your highness!" yelled Cloud, jokingly and picked up her clothes. He threw them into the washing machine and turned it on.

"Amazing, a hotel room with a washing machine which is also a tumble dryer," he laughed. He stripped his clothes and threw on a robe. Shoving his clothes into the washing machine beside the one with Serahs' clothes he leapt back into the couch. He got himself comfortable and Serah walked out with a towel wrapped around her body, covering her 'special parts'. Her hair was wrapped in a towel and sat beside Cloud, leaning her body on his. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she sniffed.

"Eugh, you need to shower," laughed Serah, playfully slapping Clouds' arm. He laughed and got up to go for a shower. As soon as she heard the water rushing she sneakily walked up to the door, opened it slightly seeing Cloud hidden behind the shower curtain, unaware of her presence. She grabbed the robe and the large towel, took the towel from her head and put it up in exchanged the clothing articles. She silently closed the door and hid the clothes. She sat back on the couch and waited. Not long after she'd sat down she heard cursing from the bathroom. The door swung open and Cloud stood there, holding the towel, which barely covered his 'special parts'. Serah burst out laughing and Cloud looked angry. She quickly noticed how defined his abdominal muscles were, that six-pack, muscular arms and tight frame. Serah quickly found herself blushing at her best friends' body. A droplet of water fell from one of his blond spikes and dribbled down his chest. Serah found her cheeks becoming very warm from blushing. Turning her head, she pointed to the wardrobe in the bedroom and Cloud quickly walked to the bedroom. Serah turned her head back to Cloud in time to see his ass as he entered the room.

"Oh, sweet baby Jesus," gasped Serah quietly and Cloud slammed the door. He returned with a proper towel wrapped around his waist and Serah smiled. He sat beside Serah and leaned against the side of the couch, his arm on top of the couch. Serah leaned on him again and sat her hand on his body, feeling the muscles underneath her palm. She smiled, blushing as she laid her hand on him. Clouds' arm came to rest on Serahs' shoulder, fingers just trailing her collar bone. She looked up to him and he looked down to her, their eyes staring into one another's. Serah moved closer, inching towards her friend's face, his cyan eyes becoming more intense as they came closer to her.

"Serah, we shouldn't…" Cloud trailed off as Serah pressed her lips onto Clouds'. He deepened the kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Suddenly the TV began flashing, taking both of their attention. On the screen was a man in a blue suit with blood stains on it. A man in a black bodysuit with a gas mask walked on screen beside the man.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the United States, it seems we have a problem here, said a synthesised voice, "there is a pair of youngsters that have something we want and we just can't seem to find them. I implore your help to apprehend these young adults, should I say? Ladies and gentlemen, if you can bring them to me I will do no further harm to your-" he cut himself off and pulled off the black mask of the man in the blue suit, "-President."

The camera zoomed out and the President of the United States was tied to a chair, his face bloodied, nose broken, lip burst and eye swollen.

"Mr Cloud Strife and Ms Serah Farron, either hand yourself in or your President will suffer dearly for it." The video turned off, leaving the pair bewildered. A woman appeared on-screen and a picture of Serah and Cloud from school flashed up on the corner of the screen.

"Oh god," groaned Serah, climbing off the couch. She ran to the washing machine, which had now finished both sets of their clothes. She hurriedly took the clothes out, which were nice, warm and dry. She threw Clouds' clothes to him and she quickly put her clothes on while he was throwing his on. They both ran to the elevator and waited for it to open its doors. They ran into the lift and impatiently watched the city lights go down with the elevator. As the door opened a large security guard appeared in front of them. Serah backed up whilst Cloud took the opportunity to punch the guards stomach, winding the man. Cloud booted the man's knees and he crumpled in pain. He took Serahs' hand and ran towards the exit. Another man stood in their way and Serah pulled Cloud back, kicking the man's groin. Tears formed in every man in the room's eyes as the man in front of them crumpled in pain like his friend by the elevator.

"That wasn't nice," scoffed Cloud as Serah took to running again, pulling him along. They leapt down the stairs at the front door and slowed down as a large group of men, holding truncheons, walked around the fountain. Cloud and Serah looked around; looking for a way out of the mess they had gotten themselves into. Cloud grinned and sprinted, still holding Serahs' hand, straight through the fountain. He knew they would come up against the resistance of the water and threw a ball of ice, which he had formed with his free hand, and threw it at the water behind them. The group ran onto the ice and started slipping, landing on their backsides. One of the group climbed to his feet and quickly slid near Cloud. He looked down and a gush of water blasted the man's face, sending him backwards. He smacked his head off the ice and was knocked unconscious.

After running for quite some time, Serah and Cloud stopped by an alley to catch their breath. Cloud straightened up and felt someone grab him into the alley. He tried to yell but someone covered his mouth and threw him into a van.

"Shout and you'll get someone who you don't want to mess with over here," said a girl, pointing to a large man in a trenchcoat and large hat, covering his face, who was just walking into a casino across the road from the alley.

"You're going to hand us in, aren't you?" asked Serah, tears forming in her eyes.

"No, we want to help you," smiled the girl, her chestnut coloured hair falling down her face. She used her hand to wipe away the stray hair and her emerald green eyes shined in the low light, "my name is Kira and I know everything you know."

"What do you mean?" asked Cloud, running a hand through his blond spikes.

"We know all about the New World Order, only thing we don't know is who is the leader."

"You know their plans then?"

"Well the name gives it all away; they want to take over the world." Serah scoffed at the thought of someone taking over the world, "got something to say, girl?"

"Yes, we're under threat for our lives and you go on about someone wanting to take over the world. If you really know what's going on then why haven't you been blacklisted for capture or even worse, death?" said Serah, angrily.

"We haven't broadcasted what we know or that we have powers! Or, to top it all off, blew up Area 51! There could've been information, vital to our cause, in there!" growled Kira.

"You mean this?" asked Cloud, handing over a brown folder.

"What's this?" asked Kira, flipping through the pages.

"It's the real information of JFK and 9/11."

"We have to get you back to headquarters," said Kira, motioning for the driver to go. The van pulled out of the alley and sped through the streets of Las Vegas.

Not much was said on the way to the headquarters but looks of concern and encouragement were given between Serah and Cloud. The van pulled to a halt and the door opened, flooding the back of the van. Kira stepped out and Cloud saw she was wearing very short shorts and an orange hoody. They stepped out of the van into a large warehouse filled with computer servers. Kira walked on in silence but motioned for the pair to follow her. They looked around and Cloud saw a man in red sitting beside a large window, twirling a large gun in between his thumb and forefinger. A pigeon began fluttering away and within a second the man had flipped the gun into his hand and fired, the shot echoing through the warehouse and a thud as the bird hit the ground, dead. The shot fired hit through the birds head.

"He's got a good shot," smirked Cloud, impressed with the mysterious man.

"Vincent Valentine, ex-secret service before someone decided to experiment on him. Now, he's a cold, ruthless man who doesn't ask questions before shooting," said Kira, "we're here."

The room the group were now in was filled with computers and people typing furiously on keyboards. A small girl in a red dress ran up to Kira and handed her a sheet of paper. Kira scanned the paper and turned to Cloud and Serah.

"First, we need to get you out of those clothes. Second, we've got the location of the men who are holding the President," she smiled, handing the sheet of paper to Cloud.

"This is where they are?" Kira simply nodded in agreement.

"Where are they?" asked Serah, becoming impatient.

"How about we go to the Eiffel Tower?" winked Cloud.

_**We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love.**_

_**It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.**_

_**Author Note 2: **__I hope you are enjoying this, please review._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author Note: **__ Thanks '_cloudfarron_' for the reviews. They are much appreciated. Well, I now have a complete idea of what I am going to do for the rest of the fic. I feel there may be a lot of chapters in this so bear with me. Sorry that I am taking a while to update but I am really busy a lot of the time. Here is chapter 5 of '_New World Order'_._

_**Always be yourself, express yourself,**_

_**Have faith in yourself,**_

_**Do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.**_

Serah stared at Cloud. Could she possibly be going to the Eiffel Tower, albeit in Las Vegas? She smiled widely and began bouncing on the spot. Cloud smiled and laughed with his friend as he nodded, answering the question that was on her thoughts. Kira laughed alongside her new friends. Suddenly, Serah stopped bouncing and scanned the warehouse. Cloud began trying to see what she was searching for but noticed nothing out of the ordinary. Kira looked at Serah confused and put her hand on Serahs' shoulder.

"Serah, are you okay?" asked Kira, worried.

"I'm bouncing about the place while the President has been kidnapped," said Serah, "seems a bit unfair."

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Cloud.

"Let's get to work," said Kira, nodding in agreement. She pressed a button on her earpiece and began barking orders at her team. They quickly hurried themselves into their work and soon the warehouse was bustling with the sounds of keyboards being tapped furiously, the printer spitting out copies of everything they needed to get on with their objectives. The team began shouting, to be heard over the noise, information to one-another.

Kira began walking into a room filled with weapons and different kinds of ammo. She picked up a silver handgun and shoved it into a holster on the table in front of her. She strapped the holster onto her thigh and tightened the straps to make it more comfortable to wear. She turned to Cloud and Serah and motioned for them to pick up weapons that were specifically set out for them. Cloud picked up a katana style gunblade. He weighed the weapon in his hand and felt the weapon was light enough for him to use to the weapons full potential and with the gun embedded in the blade it would be useful for long range.

Serah smiled at Cloud and picked up her own weapon. She looked at it confused as it contained a lot of machinery.

"What's this?" she asked, weighing the weapon in her hands. It seemed to be the perfect weight, like someone had made it specifically for her.

"It's a bowsword, a new weapon specially made for the petite women," replied Kira, holding a combat knife in her hand.

"Bowsword? Sounds cool," grinned Serah, flicking it into sword mode and catching the handle as the sword fell down towards the ground.

"These weapons feel like they were made for us," said Cloud, his suspicions of this group battling its way to the front of his brain.

"Erm, yeah, 'bout that," began Kira, awkwardly scratching the back of her head with a smile on her face.

"Go on," urged Cloud feeling like his suspicions were right.

"We've been following you since you first found out about the truth. Ben was one of our agents who were tasked with getting the information to you. We didn't expect the suits to appear and we intervened. Threw a can of sleeper gas into the house, then we took care of the suits. Got the house set up and moved a new couple in."

"You meant for all this to happen?" growled Cloud, believing to have been betrayed.

"We were ordered by a focus. I refuse to turn into a C'ieth, or let any of my men turn into one either!" shouted Kira, "it was the Will of Etro."

"Etro did this to us? She made us L'Cie and cursed us on this journey?" asked Serah visibly shaken by the revelations which had unfolded in front of her.

"Etro knows everything in the timeline from Valhalla. She's seen us have this conversation and she's seen how the future pans out, but saying that, she's sent us out to stop that future from happening," said Kira, revealing everything she knew about this current situation they were in.

"So, you've been stalking us, gave us weapons which were actually made for us and now want us to change the future and then what?"

"Etro made the weapons for you. You're not going to be alone in this journey, it's my journey as well," stated Kira smugly.

"Let's go then," muttered Cloud, walking away from the pair of women.

"Cloud, catch," shouted Kira, throwing a black and silver item at him. He turned swiftly on his heel and caught the item. He looked at the key and noticed it was a motorbike key. Kira thought she noticed a smirk on his face but didn't know whether to believe it or not. She watched Cloud walk on to a darker part of the warehouse near Vincent.

"He'll be okay, he likes his alone time after hearing something big. I remember he failed a test that he needed to pass and he disappeared for a few days. He came back caked in mud, turns out he went into the forest to think about how he'd failed. It took me ages to get the mud off his clothes," laughed Serah, blushing about the memory.

"You and Cloud seem very close," smiled Kira.

"He's my best friend; he's always there for me. I think I'd be lost without him," said Serah, her cheeks turning a scarlet red.

"You ever told him how you feel?" asked Kira.

"I don't follow you," said Serah.

"It seems like you like him as more than a friend," winked Kira, laughing. Serah got lost in deep thought very quickly.

Did she really like Cloud more than just a friend? Sure there was the moment in the hotel suite, but did that really mean anything? She remembered how she felt with that kiss. The first time she kissed Cloud. She felt a spark, something she hadn't felt for a long time. Was something there, deep inside her heart? It had been so long since she'd felt this way about someone. She'd always felt warm beside Cloud, not just because of his body heat, every time she'd had a nightmare, Cloud never complained when she'd crawl into his bed to feel safer. She gasped as she realised that she had strong feelings for her friend. Her best friend.

Cloud walked over to the darkest part of the warehouse and sat on the ground. He loved the darkness, the only bad thing about the darkness would be the fact his eyes seemed to glow unnaturally. He sighed and hit his head against the wall. He heard a soft thud and turned his head to see Vincent standing in front of him, his red eyes glowed in the darkness.

"You like the darkness?" asked Vincent flatly.

"No-one can see me in the darkness, means no-one would bother me," sighed Cloud.

"Your eyes glow like mako eyes. Are you human?" asked Vincent.

"Human? I'm L'Cie, are they human?" asked Cloud.

"Cursed by Etro also?" asked Vincent showing a tear drop brand on his neck. Cloud noticed how it was the exact same as his.

"Are Etros' brands all the same?"

"Yes, it is unique, shows others that you have been chosen and cursed by the Goddess."

"I feel so guilty; Serah has been branded because of me. If I never met Ben, or even went over to his house, we could've lived peacefully together," groaned Cloud.

"Then you'd never develop the feelings you have for her," stated Vincent. Cloud gasped at how Vincent knew.

"How did you…"

"I could tell by the movements you make around her. You're always ahead of her, making sure she's protected even in the safest of areas. I have lived for a very long time. I'm not a normal human, I have been enhanced beyond what people would call human. I've come to notice the little twitches people have around certain people."

"I guess that is right," said Cloud, avoiding eye contact with Vincent.

"You should tell her, I think you'll be surprised," said Vincent, leaping back to the window ledge he is usually perched at.

"I'll be surprised?" questioned Cloud. He heaved himself up from the ground and dusted himself off. His mind was blank apart from an image of Serah in his head. How would be approach this? Just go up to her and say it? He suddenly came out of his thoughts and seen Serah was coming towards him. '_Well, here goes nothing,_' thought Cloud as Serah came closer.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Serah, putting her hand on his arm. Cloud felt his skin tingle at the touch.

"Y, yeah, I'm fine," smiled Cloud, putting his hand on her arm.

"There's something I wanna talk to you about," said Serah, blushing slightly.

"I wanted to talk to you as well, actually," said Cloud trying his hardest to keep eye contact.

"I love you," said the both of them at the same time. Silence cut through the air, both just looking at one another. Cloud certainly was surprised, as was Serah. She smiled at him and he smiled back. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her soft lips. Serah felt the spark from before. He pulled away and smiled again, bringing Serah into an embrace.

Kira coughed loudly and brought Cloud and Serah out of their moment.

"We still have a job to do," smiled Kira, walking towards a computer.

"Let's go," smiled Cloud holding Serahs' hand and walking towards Kira.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author Note: **__I am so sorry I haven't updated this in a while. I've started working and I hardly get any time to sit down and think of something to write. This may or may not be short. I'll see what happens as it goes. Oh yeah, I got a tattoo of Cloud Strife a few days ago and it is so freakin' awesome! Link to my Facebook is on my page so if you want to see it just go and see the picture of it _

Cloud looked at Serah. Serah looked at Cloud. They'd both said those four letters to one another. Cloud released a breath he didn't even know he was holding. God, he was so scared to say that to her. They'd been friends for a very long time and he'd never thought of her that way. Maybe it was just the hormones running through his body that he finally noticed how beautiful his friend was.

Serah stared at Cloud as he released his breath. She'd tried not to start laughing as his face got redder as he began blushing. His spikes bounced about his head as he tried to level his breathing again. Suddenly the urge to just wrap her arms around him emerged in her mind. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Cloud. His shirt smelled good, in fact he smelled good. Serah smiled as she nuzzled her head into his chest.

"You two, come on," laughed Kira leaning against the frame of the door which she used her thumb to point through, a signal to the pair that they had to go into the room. Cloud nodded and began walking as Serah released her embrace on Cloud. He gently took Serahs' hand in her own and she walked quickly beside him. The pair smiled as they walked side-by-side and hand in hand. Kira smiled at the pair as they walked past her and she turned around and began following the lovebirds.

The got into the room and quickly sat down. A blue hue shimmered from an orb in the centre of the room. Kira walked past the orb and swiped her hand over the orb. The orb erupted a bright blue light and suddenly a blue holographic screen came out from above the orb. Cloud and Serah looked at the spectacle in front of them, flabbergasted.

"Nice," commented Cloud smirking. Kira nodded and began swiping her hands over the holographic screen and images began popping up, showing symbols and a map of the area around the Las Vegas Eiffel Tower.

"We've traced the video feed link to here. The signal is coming from the top of the tower," stated Kira still swiping more images onto the screen, "it took a while to trace it through the many levels of encryption."

"So, we go in, kill the enemy and walk out with the President?" asked Cloud lifting his feet up onto the table in front of him.

"That's pretty much it," agreed Kira, "there's no way the kidnappers are going to let us waltz in and take the President out." She left the screen and walked towards the wall behind her. Pressing her palm against the wall caused the hissing of air being released and a small shelf started coming out of the wall. On the shelf, perfectly ironed and folded into the indents in the shelf, lay three sets of clothes. Kira lifted a dark, denim-like jacket with a pair of denim hot pants and a pair of cowboy-style boots. She sat them on the table and slid them towards Serah. Serah looked at them and nodded, standing up and walking out the room.

Next, Kira pulled out a black, cotton zip-up shirt and a pair of black, baggy combat trousers and a pair of sturdy, black boots. She slid them over to Cloud and he grabbed them, walking out of the room. He kept walking until he made it to the nearest bathroom. Inside he quickly slid into a cubicle and locked the door. He pulled off his black t-shirt and pulled on the cotton shirt. He gasped lightly as he felt how soft and comfortable the shirt was. He pulled of his jeans and slid into the combats, hearing a soft thud as he clipped the clasp on his trousers closed. He looked down to the floor to see a long black sleeve with a black, leather pauldron on the top which was decorated with a detailed, silver wolf with a ring in its mouth. He felt the pockets and pulled out a pair of black, leather gloves, one with a wrist sleeve longer than the other. He picked up his discarded clothes in a bundle and walked out the cubicle. He checked himself in the mirror, loving how his hair defied gravity and always stayed the way he liked it. Nodding to himself, he walked out of the toilet and back to the room.

Inside, Serah was already there sitting on her chair in her new outfit. Cloud noticed how it clung to her curves, making him blush. Serah smiled and patted the seat in front of her and he nodded, taking the seat beside her. A whooshing sound echoed in the room and a secret door in the right side wall slid away, revealing Kira. She wasn't wearing her normal clothes but now she was wearing a short skirt with a pair of black biker shorts underneath and a white shirt. She threw a pair of holsters at Cloud who looked at the funnily.

"One is for you and the other is for Serah," Kira said, clipping a holster over her shoulder. Cloud took a holster that looked like it would fit his gunblades. Serah also slid her holster on, letting it hang by the back of her legs when it's in sword mode.

"Thanks, I'm ready for this now," said Cloud, rising from his chair and bouncing lightly on the spot. A golden clawed hand landed on Clouds' shoulder, calming him in an instant.

"If you aren't careful then you will be in trouble," said Vincent, his voice sending chills down Clouds' spine, "you can't be a restless puppy on the battlefield." Cloud nodded and returned to his seat. Serah looked down at him and smiled.

"Vincent, I assume you are joining us?" chirped Serah. Vincent glared at her and nodded. His glare sent shivers through Serahs' body.

Kira looked at the pair and smiled. Cloud took that as a sign that it was time to go and finally save the President. She threw Cloud a small device which explained what Serah and Clouds' plan was. He'd read through the brief and quickly jogged to the parking lot. He found the bike which his key fit into.

The bike gleamed like it was brand new, the paint shining. It wasn't an expensive bike, just a regular dirt bike. Cloud lifted his leg over the bike and revved it. Serah grabbed the seat and launched herself onto the bike as Cloud shot out the door.

Kira and Vincent watched the pair speed off towards their destination.

"Do you think Etro chose wisely?" asked Kira, her mind racing with many questions that only the Goddess could answer.

"It wasn't just those two she chose, Kira, there are four more scattered through the universe," stated Vincent, calmly looking into the distance.

"You mean…?"

"This fight is much bigger than we ever imagined. It's going to take the combined forces of them all in order for us to defeat our enemy."

"Vincent, who exactly are you?"

"I am simply Etro's servant. I am here to make sure they have the right guidance."

"You are a man of mystery, Valentine," said Kira, quickly walking towards a SUV and climbing into the car.

Cloud and Serah laughed as they sped through the streets, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic and pedestrians. A large blast of energy surprised Cloud, causing him to press hard on the brakes and skidding to a halt. He looked around and noticed the tower right around the corner from them, the energy blasting a hole in the house beside them. He looked up the tower; seeing a large beast firing off beams of energy in all directions, visibly angered. Cloud scanned the area and smirked, realising a way up the tower. He reached into his back pocket and brought out a pair of goggles. He tightened them over his eyes and looked back to Serah, flashing her a large grin.

"Hold on, we're going up," laughed Cloud, turning back and revving the bike.

"Up!?" screamed Serah, quickly wrapping her arms around Cloud. He laughed loudly and shot up a run over car. The bike sped off the car and went straight towards the leg of the tower. He pulled the bike back and slammed onto the leg, speeding up the metal towards the platform at the top. Cloud lifted his feet onto the seat, pulling Serah up with him, and leapt off the bike. Serah let go of Cloud and the pair flew into the air. Both flipped and landed on the platform, unsheathing their weapons.

Sitting in the middle of the platform sat a man in a chair, behind the man stood the large creature which was firing beams of energy. Cloud stood up straight, his swords ready to deflect an attack. Serah remained crouched down, her bowsword in its bow mode, aimed at the beasts' heart.

"Slashed, strangled, and slaughtered. Beaten, stabbed, and crushed. Garrotted and impaled. Shot and executed without mercy. Nicely said, Weiss, I wonder if this will be a little more amusing than last time," echoed a feminine voice with a thick Romanian accent. Cloud gasped and quickly scanned the platform and surrounding areas. He grunted as his eyes landed on a woman, dressed in a red battlesuit with black outlines. She leapt off the beam she was on and the red cloth tied at the back of her flowed gracefully.

"Who are you," yelled Cloud, "and what is that thing?"

"I am Rosso the Crimson," smirked the woman, spinning her double bladed gun-like weapon, "and this is the Homunculi known as Sloth."

"What are Homunculi and who is Weiss?" shouted Serah aiming her bow at Rosso.

"Homunculi are beings brought forth from the seal and Weiss is a man who'll change this entire world!" laughed Rosso, her voice capturing the attention of the beast.

"She's insane," gasped Serah, looking at Cloud. Even through his goggles dark shades she still saw the determination in his eyes to get rid of the beast and woman to save the President.

"Serah, shoot a Flamestrike at the beam above that woman," whispered Cloud, loud enough for Serah to hear. Serah nodded and quickly shot the chosen attack at the beam. As soon as the Flamestrike hit the beam, it melted and caused an imbalance in the structure.

"Smart boy," laughed Rosso, managing to maintain her balance as the tower began shaking, "I would've tested your skills but I'll wait and see what happens here."

The beams above began snapping and falling towards the platform. Cloud sprinted towards the President, slashing apart any beams that fell in his way. Rosso flipped over the beams and darted from one beam to the other as the structure fell apart. Cloud slid one of his swords back into the holster and grabbed the chair with his free hand while blocking an attack from Sloth with his sword.

Serah dodged a falling beam and fired a Sparkstrike, hitting Sloths' eye. Cloud slashed the restraints and hauled the President over his shoulder. He sprinted, dodging and slashing the beams as the fell and stopped beside Serah.

"Let's go, this place is gonna be rubble in minutes," warned Cloud, moving Serah ahead of him. The pair leapt onto the building across from them and ran straight to the edge and jumped onto the next building.

"I should really thank you," shouted Rosso, "if it weren't for you then I'd have to go through the trouble of opening the seal myself!"

"What are you talking about!?" screamed Serah, angry at this strange woman.

"Sloth, of course. If you hadn't hit the weakest point in the tower, bringing it down upon the beast and ending its life then I would have to do it," replied Rosso, twirling her blade around her.

"You mean…" gasped Cloud.

"You catch on quickly, yes I mean the tower and Sloth were a seal. When we open the rest then this world will know pain and suffering," laughed Rosso, quickly darting over the rooftops, escaping the pair. Cloud sighed in annoyance and looked down to the President. The mans' face was badly beaten and bloody.

"Sir, are you okay?" asked Serah, preparing a Cure spell for the President. He nodded weakly as she cast the white magic over his body. The blood slowly drew back into the wounds as they closed up. He sat up slowly and looked at Serah and then Cloud.

"Etro's warriors?" asked the President.

"Yes, sir," replied Cloud, helping the President to his feet.

"We have to get away from here; may I borrow your mobile?"

"Of course," replied Cloud handing over his phone. The President pressed a few buttons and muttered a few words before ending the call.

"A helicopter will be here with your friends on it, we're going to the White House," said the President as a helicopter appeared out of nowhere. The door opened and Kira helped them into the cabin.

"Trust you two to destroy something," grinned Kira, heaving Cloud into the cabin.

"I like leaving my mark," winked Cloud taking a seat beside Serah. The helicopter flew past the remains of the tower and passed a burning building. Kira looked down and gasped, causing Cloud and Serah to look over beside her. Down below, their headquarters had been destroyed. Looking up and grinning was a large man, draped in blue wielding a large cannon.

"They've destroyed our home," growled Kira, staring at the man as the helicopter flew off towards Washington.

_**Author Note 2: **__Oh, God, I am so sorry this took forever to churn out! I promise I'll get newer chapters up sooner._


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author Note: **__Thanks for the awesome reviews guys. I'm not going to apologise this time for not having this chapter up earlier. I update very irregularly because I have a short attention span nowadays, or the writers' block keeps on kicking in and making me lose my train of thought, etc, etc, etc… So, yeah, here is Chapter 7._

The whir of the helicopter blades spinning slowed down to a stop. Sapphire blue eyes opened to the sunlight pouring through the window of the helicopter cabin. Cloud let out a loud yawn and stretched his arms above his head, his top lifting and showing his toned abs. He stopped stretching as he felt a weight lift from his legs. Cloud looked down to see Serah slowly stir from her sleep and looking into Cloud's eyes groggily.

"We're here," said Cloud wiping a small bit of drool from Serahs' lip. He laughed quietly and held his hand out, which she took. He stood up and heaved Serah to her feet. He turned and saw Kira opening the door; a blast of fresh air filled the cabin with the scent of freshly cut grass and not even acknowledging their presence. Cloud looked to Serah, his eyes filled with regret and guilt. His heart weighed down heavily knowing people had probably died in the attack on their HQ. Serah squeezed Clouds' hand, bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked to her and she smiled a smile that Cloud had come to love and know comfort from.

"Come on, we have to go," said Serah trying to keep her voice from breaking with the emotions running through her. She knew people had given their lives for her and Cloud but she knew they would morn their deaths after they got through with the problem at hand.

Cloud jumped out the cabin, turning to Serah. He held her waist as she leapt out the cabin, feeling the soft grass cushion her fall. She stood up, running her small hands down her dress, trying to get the creases of her clothes out. Cloud scanned the area they were in. Flowers of multiple colours brightened the garden of the large, white, mansion-like building in front of them. A pair of men in black suits which looked too familiar for Clouds' liking came to Serah and Cloud and hustled them towards the White House.

As soon as they were in the house a click echoed through the hall, notifying Cloud and Serah that the door was locked behind them. Feeling uneasy they walked through the long hall, admiring the pictures of the past Presidents hung on the wall. The unease grew stronger the further they got through the hall, not knowing what was going to happen or where Kira was. The men in suits grabbed the pair from behind and threw them into a large oval room. Sitting at a desk in the middle of the room was the President, his face cleaned. The men in the suits left the room and closed the door behind them without saying a single word.

Serah looked around the room, admiring the pictures and ornaments in the Oval Office. Cloud left her to her own thoughts as he walked up to the Presidents' desk.

"Sir, I have some questions," stated Cloud, looking into his elders eyes.

"And I have some answers," replied the President leaning back in his chair.

"How did you know we were Etro's Warriors?" asked Cloud relaxing his body.

"I read a lot about certain people who could use magic, but only with the brand of Etro and I came to the conclusion after your pink haired friend healed me," smiled the President. Cloud looked at the President, who was looking back with a smug smirk on his face, "you know, hacking then blowing up a government facility is a crime that can send you to a lifetime in prison?"

"I do, but the facility self-destructed due to a biohazard," replied Cloud with a matter of fact tone to his voice, "and we weren't part of the hacking… Sir." The pair began a stare off until the sound of a door opening and closing took their attention. At the door stood Kira, her arm in a bandage and she had changed into a pair of tight jeans and a loose fitting orange top.

"Kira, how are you?" asked Cloud rushing over to see her. She looked into his eyes and Cloud noticed her eyes were red, a sign of recently crying, which was understandable due to the circumstances.

"I'll be okay after we've done what we need to do," replied Kira looking straight to the President and walking over to him, "we need computers and fast. I need my teams weapons cleaned and I need a god damn Twinkie." Cloud and Serah stared at Kira, surprised by her sudden demands to the man who supposedly runs the country.

"And why should I give a hacker all she needs?" smiled the President leaning forwards at Kira.

"Because my team saved your life and we would be grateful since you're helping us stop what could potentially be the destruction of this world," stated Kira. The President looked at Kira like she had just escaped a mental house or had taken too many drugs.

"Thank you for saving me but the destruction of our world? What are you talking about?" asked the President in disbelief, "have you got any proof of this?"

"Proof? You were there when my team were attack by that bitch in red and that homunculi!" growled Kira, her voice rising slowly. Cloud put a hand on her shoulder and released a small Thunder spell, sparking Kira out of her anger.

"Sir, when I was fighting Rosso she mentioned something about a seal and how there were more. I don't understand what she was talking about but it would be useful if we could have a place to recuperate and find out what these seals are. Please, sir, help us?" begged Cloud thinking of going on his hands and knees to beg. The President leaned back and smiled at the trio.

"Since you put it that way, I'll have your weapons taken care of and if you need any tune-ups or anything ask me. I will have an area of the house set up for your team and I will have a specialist get in touch with you today," replied the President, causing Cloud to rush up and shake his hand before taking Serah, who'd been too busy looking at everything in the room to know what her friends were talking about, and running through the halls to their designated area. Standing at the corner of the room was a familiar man in a red cloak.

"Vincent, you're okay!" laughed Cloud running to see the ominous crimson eyed man.

"Yeah, I got into a fight at the base with a behemoth," replied Vincent walking away from the pair and into one of the many rooms in the area. A ringing echoed through the room and the pair looked about, trying to find the cause of the ringing. Cloud walked up to the computer to see a green phone icon on the desktop. He pressed his finger against the icon and a web cam video of a very beautiful woman came up.

"Hello? I'm looking for Kira," said the woman in an English accent.

"She should be here soon, who is this?" asked Serah pushing Cloud out of the way to see the woman.

"My name in Lara Croft and I am an archaeologist with information for Kira and her team," replied the woman, tightening her braided ponytail.

"You're in luck, we are part of Kiras' team," smiled Serah. She heard the sound of keys clicking on a keyboard and looked to Lara, whose eyes were scanning the screen on her own end. She clicked her mouse a few times before turning back to the camera.

"Cloud and Serah? I have information on the seals," said Lara, clicking her mouse again.

"The seals!?" gasped Cloud, pushing Serah out of the way of the computer, "what do you know?" Lara tutted and looked to Cloud.

"There are seven seals hidden on Earth, and if all seven of the seals are opened then this world is going to hell, literally," replied Lara.

"So, what was that Homunculi?" asked Serah, moving Cloud over a bit to fit into the screen.

"The one you fought was Sloth, which is the protector of the seal in Vegas. There are seven Homunculi; they are the Seal Guardians, born from the energies contained in the seals."

"Lara, do you know where any of the seals are?" asked a female voice from behind them. The pair turned to see Kira walk towards them. The pair moved apart, giving Kira access to the computer. She waved her hand over a sensor and a holographic keyboard appeared and Kira quickly began tapping keys with furious speed.

"I know the location of two of the seals, which are protected by Lust and Greed," said Lara, nodding her head in agreement, "the first is in Egypt, in the catacombs under the Sphinx. The second is in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro." Cloud scoffed after hearing the locations.

"Lots and lots of sand… How enjoyable?" asked Cloud sarcastically.

"Thank you Lara, if you learn anything new please let me know on my cell phone," said Kira, before closing the call, "We've got a lot to do, let's get started tomorrow."

Cloud watched Kira walk away and enter a room then closed the door without a goodbye or anything.

"Cloud, let's go," said Serah, walking off into their designated room and collapsing onto the soft bed. Cloud closed the door behind in and stripped of her trousers, shoes, socks and jacket before climbing into bed and holding Serah, who'd stripped of her clothes and lay beside Cloud. The pair drifted off to sleep, wondering what they were going to go against in the future.


	8. Chapter 8

A sound like a million elephants marching outside the room woke Cloud from his sleep as well as Serah. The pair bolted upright and noticed a burning smell around them. Grabbing their clothes and quickly tossing them on they sprinted out of the room to see a large portion of the building destroyed. Looking across the large garden in front of the house they noticed men in black suits shooting creatures of all shapes and sizes, some winged monsters with snake bodies and feathered wings flew at the men and grabbed them. The red bodied beasts tossed their captured prey into the air before quickly snapping at them, their fangs sinking into the flesh drawing crimson red liquid from their wounds. The men tried to scream but it got stuck in their throats and silence came out instead. Serah shivered at the sight, trying to forget the image that had already seared itself into her mind. Cloud quickly wrapped his arms around her and led her away from the large hole in the wall. It dawned on Cloud that through the sight they saw they hadn't realized that alarms were blaring through the building, calling for emergency exits. They turned a corner and noticed the President limping towards them. The pair made their way over to him but before they could get close to him a portion of the ceiling above the President fell, crushing the leader under the debris. Serah stopped and gasped, the sight taking her by surprise. Cloud, on the other hand, sprinted towards the debris and began throwing bits off trying to get to the man underneath the pile.

"Mr. President!" screamed Cloud, trying his hardest to throw the debris away from the President who was now coughing heavily.

"Cloud…" gasped the President as Cloud lifted a part of the debris bringing the Presidents blood and dust covered face. His skin was pale and as Cloud put his hand to the man's cheek it felt cold, a sign the man underneath was slowly dying. The spiky blond suddenly went into overdirve, grabbing chunks of debris and throwing it over his shoulder to get to the President. Serah quickly ran up to Cloud and helped him lift the debris. The pair heaved a large piece off the pile, tossing it to the side of them. As it hit the ground a shockwave shook the building causing the pile to collapse more, covering the President up to his neck. He coughed up blood and groaned as his body began going numb and his vision fading.

"Cloud," wheezed the President, struggling to breathe with the weight on top of him.

"Sir," Cloud whispered, falling to his knees beside the rubble.

"Leave me…" he groaned, a sharp pain in his chest, "save… yourselves."

Tears began falling from Clouds' eyes, watching the President drawing his last breath. He closed the now-deceased Presidents' eyes and stood up tall. He wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand and looked down to Serah, her usually clear aqua eyes now clouded with tears. He put his hand on her shoulder and his free hand in hers, helping the pink-haired woman to her feet. Another shockwave rocked the building and Cloud heard a voice from the other side of the debris.

"Cloud, are you there!?" screamed the voice, familiar to the pair, "It's Kira!"

"Kira!" shouted Cloud, "are you okay?"

"I'm okay, how are you over there?" replied Kira, leading Cloud to breathe a sigh of relief. He didn't want any more people to die but he knew people would.

"We've lost the President and the front is being taken by monsters," said Cloud, his relief turning to despair in the situation.

"Cloud, we have to get to the gates," shouted Kira, drawing a gasp from Cloud. Was she really saying to go head first into that slaughter out there?

"Kira, we'll die out there!" shouted Cloud, his grip on Serah getting slightly tighter, fearing for their lives. An explosion shook the building, bringing Serah and Cloud to their knees.

"Meet Vincent and I there, we'll have weapons for you!" shouted Kira as she ran away from the debris. As the footsteps faded Cloud looked down to Serah who simply shrugged. The pair climbed to their feet and began running from the debris to the hole near their room. They turned a corner and quickly stopped themselves as they noticed a few, large, lava-like monsters standing in front of them. Cloud felt a familiar tingle in his fingers and flicked his hand through the air, causing the air to freeze, sending icicles through the creatures. Serah threw a few Thunder spells, paralyzing the creatures as they ran past them with ease.

They leapt through the hole in the building, landing on the grass. The stood upright and began sprinting towards the main gates, seeing Kira shooting some of the creatures with a handgun and holding a bow-like weapon in her free hand. Vincent followed her, shooting creatures with his triple-barrelled handgun named Cerberus. Cloud noticed the bulky sword trailing behind the red-cloaked man. The pair met up with the pair, Vincent looking unscathed while Kira had dirt and blood on her. She smiled at the pair and threw the bow to Serah, who flicked it into sword-mode quickly, noting how it resembled her previous weapon but with a more sleek design. Vincent handed Cloud the large sword and the blond gasped at how light it felt with him. He swung the blade over his head and smashed it into the ground beside him. The other three stared at him with surprise at how he could wield such a weapon for the first time with ease.

Cloud looked outside the gate, seeing the remaining few men in suits being forced back to the gate with the oncoming monster swarm.

"We're in a warzone, and I want to know why," stated Cloud bending his knees, ready to leap over the fence.

"Two Homunculi were spotted nearby," replied Vincent, "Sloth and Wrath, apparently."

"We're in trouble if there are two of them," shuddered Serah, her grip on her weapon tightening causing her knuckles to go white.

"There's four of us, split them up and it should make it easier," said Kira calmly.

"It's the best we can do," said Cloud leaping over the fence and bringing his blade down upon a large monster, cleaving it in half. Spinning on his heel he ripped through a few more monsters with his blade. Gunshots and arrows began firing around him, hitting any beast he missed. A few minutes past and the last monster fell to the ground. He urged the men in suits to get back into the White House and evacuate the remaining people. The men simply nodded, unsure of what to say to the man in front of them.

The rest of Cloud's group ran up to him and looked around, noticing the eerie quiet of the street, which was filled with the screams of monsters and men and the gunshots only moments ago. Cloud felt uneasy with the silence but motioned for the group to follow him down the street.

Minutes passed as the team ran down the street, which was deserted, with no noise from anywhere like the entire city had suddenly become quiet. Serah stopped and quickly looked around the nearby buildings, feeling something wasn't right. Looking up the top of one of the larger buildings stood a slender figure, with long flowing black hair. With the blink of an eye the figure was racing down the face of the building, heading towards Serah. The sound of Serah flicking her bow into sword mode caused Cloud to turn around only to see Serah taking an offensive stance, ready for an attack. He looked around and saw a cloud of dust rise quickly and he ran towards Serah. Out of nowhere Cloud felt a knee smashing into his gut winding him. He coughed as he fell to his knees and looked up to see a pretty woman with big eyes looking down at him. She smiled at Cloud before bringing her fist down on his face. His body crumpled under the unreal strength of the punch. Cloud groaned as he tried to pull himself up. The woman raised her fist for another attack but was stopped by a kick from Kira. The woman fell back into a back roll then used her hands to propel herself into the air. She landed gently a distance away from them.

Kira motioned to Vincent to help Serah, who was now blocking attacks from what Kira could only guess as a young boy wearing a black, skin-tight tube top and matching skin-tight shorts. She turned to the older woman who moved a lose strand of chocolate brown hair behind her ear, her hazel eyes locked on Kira. The woman wiped herself down, showing off a small red, heart-like symbol on her hand. Kira noticed the symbol and she frowned at the woman.

"Homunculus, right?" questioned Kira. The woman continued wiping down her knee-length olive skirt. "Answer me!"

"Yes, I am," smiled the woman, her soft, angelic voice flowing through the air, "my name is Pride."

"Pride," smirked Cloud, rising to his feet slowly, using his sword as a balance.

"Is my name funny to you?" growled the woman, her angelic voice suddenly shifting to a deep, demonic voice.

"Let's get this over with, Cloud," groaned Kira, aiming her handgun at Pride. Cloud nodded and rushed towards Pride.

Xxx

Serah blocked a kick from the boy who was smaller than her and younger. She forced his foot away from her, causing the young Homunculi to spin, briefly losing his balance. Serah took the opportunity to swipe at his feet. The boy suddenly flipped over her leg then kicked her chest, sending her flying backwards. Vincent leapt through the air, grabbing Serahs' hand and spinning her back towards the boy. The Homunculi smiled and readied himself for another attack. He brought his leg up as to kick Serah but he grabbed his leg, bringing him into her spin. She slammed him into the ground then flicked her bowsword into its bow mode and aimed a Thunder Arrow at the boy. Releasing the arrow a bolt of lightning followed it, piercing the Homunculi's chest. The lightning burnt the Homunculi to a crisp. Serah landed on the ground, sighing gently before a loud booming voice echoed through the city.

"WRATH!" it screamed. Serah and Vincent looked around to see a woman standing, screaming at the sky.

Cloud took the opportunity to slash at Pride. The Homunculi leapt over his blade, sending another kick to his gut, sending him flying into Kira. Vincent and Serah began firing at Pride, but she dodged each bullet. Landing on the ground Pride sprinted up the side of a building. Before she reached the top the Homunculi leapt off, sailing through the air over the group. A pair of black demon wings erupted from her back and her skin began peeling off, leaving a scaly, armour-like skin underneath. Her face contorted as it stretched out to form a large jaw. The skin from her head burst off as she opened her jaw, showing razor sharp teeth. Her body began convulsing causing her to double over. She stopped her movements in the air and hovered using her wings. She stretched her body out and the rest of her true body was shown. A large black, dragon-like beast hovered in the air above them. With a flap of her wings Pride sent the group tumbling back. Cloud slammed his sword into the ground, stopping his from going back any further and rose to his feet. Feeling sharp pain rush through his body he groaned. He shook his head, trying to forget about the pain. Cloud sprinted towards Pride, leaping into the air. He brought his sword up, cutting into Pride's chest. The dragon-Homunculi screamed in agony and brought a clawed hand down upon Cloud, who blocked it with his sword. Unlucky for Cloud, the sword only blocked the attack from hitting him but not the momentum of the attack, sending him flying into the ground beside Serah.

The pink-haired woman helped him to his feet and cast a Cure spell on him quickly.

"Cloud… Serah…" groaned Kira, who was lying on the ground, hurt from Pride throwing her back with the group, "connect… crystals."

"Connect crystals?" questioned Cloud and Serah together. Pride roared with laughter, the deep demonic voice booming through the empty streets.

"You have lost Warriors of Etro!" screeched Pride gleefully. Thoughts in Cloud's mind finally fit into place and he looked at Serah. Pointing to her chest he smiled.

"Vincent, hold her off for a few minutes until we get it ready?" asked Cloud, who now had his hand splayed out across Serahs' chest. Vincent nodded and began shooting at Pride in an effort to avert her attention. Serah stared at Cloud confused as he used his free hand to make Serah copy what he was doing. Letting go of her hand he closed his eyes.

"Focus on my crystal inside my heart, try and give me your power while I do the same to you," ordered Cloud. Serah nodded and closed her eyes, focusing on passing her power onto Cloud. She felt a slight tingling sensation that was becoming stronger and stronger. Soon, the pair felt brimming with power. They opened their eyes to see one another covered in a coloured aura – Cloud covered in a light blue aura and Serah covered and a baby pink aura. The smiled at one another and turned to face Pride. Serah pulled her bow string back as far as it could go as Cloud swirled his blade above his head, creating a slight vacuum. Serah released her bow string, sending a bright white arrow into Pride's chest. Cloud leapt into the air and threw his large sword after the arrow Serah had fired. The added force from the sword made both the arrow and the sword pierce through Pride and she fell from the air into the ground, creating a large crater in the middle of the road. Her body exploded, sending a large gust of air towards the group, as well as Cloud's sword. The blond grabbed the handle of the sword as it flew through the air then collapsed from exhaustion on the ground beside Serah who fell with him.

"Let's get these two safe, then find out where the next ones are," said Kira, feeling much better after Vincent threw a Potion over her. Vincent nodded and heaved Cloud onto his shoulder.

"I've called in for a heli-evac," said Kira putting her phone in her back pocket and lifting Serah onto her shoulder. They didn't wait long before a helicopter came for them and lifted the into the air, hopefully somewhere safer.


End file.
